Back 2 Reality Part I

After a whistle-stop tour around England, I am finally back in London, armed with a great tan and a wonderful collection of photographs from our visits to York, Scarborough, Whitby, Bristol, Exeter and Devon (in chronology).

Alas, I am also finally back to reality, which came crashing down when I awoke this morning – blurry-eyed, flustered, and sick with a sinking feeling inside that my holiday is now officially over.

So I've given myself about a month off since my last deadline and the next is looming ever-so-close that I wonder if I'm going to kill myself doing an all-nighter again, except this will have to be all-nighter(s) since it involves more than just academic writing and evaluation – interviews, and so on...

I had a great time on holiday – it's funny to think how many students come to England to study but only remain pretty much in their one area of England. Thanks to J, I've toured pretty much all that's significant in England. And I really am going to miss it when I make my imminent move come October.

Having said that, I think I'm really ready for a change. No matter what that brings. I'll probably be ready for a change in another year. Only this time, I'll have to stay six years.

York was possibly the prettiest English city I've ever been to. I walked the Shambles and its wonky houses on the side of the cobbled streets had such a quaint charm, I couldn't quite put my finger to it. We walked around just looking at the maze of streets and York felt more like a little town than a city. We discovered The Most Wicked Pub of the Century according to Me called the Evil Eye Lounge, which was hidden at the back of a tobacconist and once inside, revealed a spectaculor interior with an Indonesian/Balienese decor. It had rows and rows, shelves and shelves of every single spirit you could ever think of (see above picture), and the biggest cocktail menu I have ever seen. On top of that, it served Malaysian, Indonesian and Thai food. Upstairs, you had soft cushions in little cubicles to cosy up within, and on the other side, an internet cafe. It was almost surreal. The food was the best I've had in ages (to the acquainted, I had beef rendang and nasi goreng!!! I nearly died of food-or-gas-mic-delight. We made such good friends with the bar staff, we stayed out with them till late and partied deep into the night. It was brilliant.

I would go on and on about my holiday, but to keep it digestible, here is a summary:

- After having had two hours sleep, got up very hungover and drove to Scarborough.

- Typical British seaside town, I saw the biggest seagull ever and they were nasty, tried to intimidate me, a full-sized human being, into surrendering my ice-cream, the cheeky bastards!

- Went to Whitby, and more accurately, a little village called High Horsken, to visit J's grandpa. He's 86, but still very mentally acute, intelligent and well-spoken. We sat drinking whisky and listened to his World War II stories – he flew in Lancaster planes as a pilot/navigator and was intricately involved in the British forces' operations during the war – and stories about J's nan. We went to the North York moors where it was so big and vast and beautiful, and so windy that I was literally blown away as I stood at the highest point of the moors to admire the beautiful countryside.

- Drove a massive journey all the way from Whitby (North-east) to Bristol (South-west). Got very car-sick on the way due to ups and downs and constant swerving (J's impatient driving). Sat by a hotel bar at the Clifton Suspension Bridge and had a pint of Magners and some chips. Embarked on a Hunt Harrison mission (more of that to come later) before finally giving up and eating at a very nice but stupidly pricey restaurant on the docks. Met up with lovely friends living in Bristol and went to a local pub where you got the most eclectic mix of people, mostly young and students, in this grubby but very lively pub, drinking and skinning up.

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(top left, Robin Hood's bay, near Whitby; top right, the North York Moors; bottom left, Whitby harbour; bottom right, Salcombe, Devon)

(Part II coming up)